The Feline Beauty and The Beast's Allergies
by ViolaMoon
Summary: Hermione learns to become an Animagus for Remus but then something happens which throws a spanner in the works! HGRL - One-shot from Splitting the Hourglass.


**A/N: Submission for the Houses Competition**

**Team: **Badgers

**Subject: **Charms

**Category: **Standard

**Prompt: **[Speech] "I think I'm allergic to you."

**Word Count: 2449**

**Submission for HSWW(C&A):**

**Assignment 4: First Aid – task 2: **Write about an allergy

**Submission for The Golden Snitch Forum- Nautical Ship Challenge**

**SS. Beauty and the Beast – Remus/Hermione**

**This is a one-shot related to my longer fanfic – Splitting the Hourglass (Hermione time travels to the Marauder era).**

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**The Feline Beauty and The Beast's Allergies.**

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"I can't make you do this Hermione," Remus said, pulling her into an alcove in the library, one Friday evening after classes.

"Make me do what Remus?" she said, her eyes shining with innocence.

"You know what, becoming an Animagus like James and Sirius." He placed his hands on her forearms and held her in front of him with a firm gentleness that she loved. "I know why you want to… and I can't let you, you might get hurt."

Hermione extracted one of her hands from his grip to cup his scarred cheek, "I won't get hurt, and I want to do this. It isn't just for you; it's for me as well. I have always wanted to be an Animagus." Her eyes pleaded with him, to stop worrying, to let her help him.

Remus reached down and pecked his girlfriend on the lips. "If it's something you really want to do, I guess I can't stop you, can I?" he said with a chuckle.

Hermione smiled, detangling herself from his arms. She grabbed her books and headed out of the library, Remus following on her heels.

Xx

The process of becoming an Animagus was a difficult one. Luckily James and Sirius had completed the process a couple of months before, so they were able to help her with the preparations.

She had had the mandrake leaf in her mouth for a month before spitting it into a vial under the rays of a full moon. This procedure strengthened her desire to complete the transformation. While she had told Remus that it wasn't purely for him, Hermione had not been completely honest. If she was truthful, it was probably about 90 per cent for him, 10 per cent for her. She wanted to make his transformations easier, just like James and Sirius did. She remembered back to her third year when her grown-up boyfriend/professor had transformed in front of her. She would do anything to lessen his pain.

"_Amato Animo Animato Animagus," _Hermione recited for the fifty-eighth time that month. She had to recite the incantation at sunrise and sunset until there was an electrical storm. Hermione hoped that there would be one before long. Her sixth year was slowly coming to an end, and she wanted to spend all the time she could with him, even if he was unable to be fully aware that she was there.

As she went down for breakfast the next day, Sirius shoved a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of her. "See kitten, they are saying that there should be electrical storms tomorrow evening!"

Hermione pulled the paper from Sirius' hands and grinned, "Yes! Finally!" Hermione looked around for a moment to make sure the coast was clear. "We can all meet in the Room of Requirement this evening after dinner. Then I'll perform the transformation."

Sirius nodded, "Okay, I'll spread the word."

Xx

That evening Hermione was a bundle of nerves. Remus, who had just been released from the hospital wing, tried to calm her down. "It will be fine, James and Sirius have done this before, so they know what to do. You can do this." Remus kissed her and then helped her move to the centre of the room.

The room had formed itself to look like they were out on top of one of the towers. The sky crackled with the lightning above them, yet they felt none of the rain that poured down outside.

A cold wind blew across the top of the tower. Hermione felt her robes and hair scatter in the wind, yet her nerves were steady.

"Okay, whenever you are ready, Hermione!" James called out to her from where the three boys were standing at the far edge of the platform.

Hermione looked over at them, it seemed so strange that she had been in this timeline for so long now, that she was friends with her best friend's father and his friends. That she was dating her old professor, yet now they were the same age.

She would do this for them.

"_Amato Animo Animato Animagus," _Hermione recited for the umpteenth time, yet this would be the last time she did it. She pulled up the vial she had in her hand and uncorked it, swallowing it in one gulp.

It happened instantly. Hermione felt herself shrinking and hair sprouting all over her. It didn't hurt, it just felt… strange. She had partly expected it to be like her Polyjuice accident in her second year, that had hurt but this didn't hurt at all. She felt like she was truly herself.

The boys gasped and cheered. "Good Hermione! You have transformed, now try to change back!" James called out to her. One of the boys sneezed, but she paid no notice to this as she had to transform back.

Hermione concentrated on becoming human again and felt herself shifting so she was once again standing on two feet, her robes just slightly dishevelled. The room around them changed from the windy rooftop to a changing room with mirrors. Hermione concentrated once more and with a pop, she was her Animagus self.

Turning to look in the mirror, she noticed the long tail, the small rounded ears and the black fur. She was a panther.

A snort came from behind her, and she bolted around. "A panther? So, I was right to call you Kitten then!" Sirius chuckled which Hermione answered with a growl.

Another loud sneeze came, and this time, Hermione caught who it was. Remus. She tilted her head and purred at him as if to ask if he was alright.

He moved over to her and touched her sleek black fur and smiled, "I'm fine. I'm just glad you are okay." He sneezed again. Hermione transformed back instantly and moved her hand up to his forehead. No fever at least.

"I'm probably just run down from the full moon," he reassured her, pulling her hand down and kissing it.

Hermione wasn't so quickly fooled; his eyes were red and puffy, and his nose looked a little red too. Maybe he was coming down with something, but she was not so sure. Her inquisitive mind just had to test something.

With little effort, she converted back into her black panther form. She started walking around Remus like she was an overlarge affectionate cat, she rubbed her body along his legs, purred and waited. As she suspected, he sneezed again.

Hermione transformed back, and she was speechless. Seriously, after all that work?

"I think I'm allergic to you," Remus said with a blush.

James and Sirius behind them roared with laughter. "You have the worst luck, mate!" Sirius said, unable to stay standing due to laughing at his friend's expense.

"Stop it!" Hermione said, giving him a look of pure annoyance. "I think you may be right Remus… are you allergic to cats?"

Remus seemed to think for a moment, and Hermione knew him well enough now to recognise his self-loathing was starting to appear. Before he had a chance to act on it, Hermione moved over to him and placed her hand on his chest.

"We will figure it out." She hoped that she had put a stopper in any negative thoughts he was starting to get.

Remus gave a weak nod and took her hand in his, "Yes, I'll go to Madam Pomfrey in the morning." Hermione suddenly felt a wave of nerves, they couldn't tell Madam Pomfrey! She was now an unregistered Animagus! Her own negative thoughts started to surface, but James broke that cycle.

"Well, why don't we tell the lovely Poppy that I got a cat?" he asked, as they started to pack up their stuff. "That way, we can get Remus tested and get him some medicine, if need be."

Well, at least they had a plan. Hermione couldn't believe her luck. All this hard work to find out that she had turned into an animal her boyfriend was potentially allergic to. Hopefully, they could work something out.

As it turned out, Remus was allergic to cats. Madam Pomfrey had ordered James to give the cat away and had given Remus a potion to take if it got too bad. However, he couldn't take the allergy potion at the full moon when Hermione was supposed to join him in the Shrieking Shack. This made everything more complicated. She could join him as he transformed and hoped that Moony wasn't allergic to cats, that just Remus was. Or she could let the boys care for Remus during the full moon. It was not an easy decision.

Luckily the full moon was two weeks away, so they had time to think things through. Hermione, being the girl she is, decided to research whether it was possible for transformed werewolves to have allergies. She found, however, that the Hogwarts Library lacked in that department.

xx

"I don't think you should come," Remus told her one evening while they all sat up in the boy's dormitory, Peter was not around as usual. He often spent time outside the common room now that they were no longer friends.

"What if Moony reacts to your panther form?" he speculated. "I don't want you to get hurt… I don't want to hurt you…" He squeezed her tightly to him. Hermione could feel his laboured breaths, the full moon was days away, and he could already feel the effects of the approaching transformation.

"Don't worry mate, we can protect her," James said from across the room where he was lounging on his bed, playing with his golden snitch.

"Yes, we can escort her out if you start to react, it's not a problem. In our Animagus forms, we can easily handle it," Sirius said. "It will be fine, you can trust us to protect your girl. We don't want to see her hurt either."

Remus unconsciously hugged her even tighter, and Hermione needed to wiggle to get him to ease up. "I'll be fine, Remus. I can take care of myself," Hermione turned towards him with a reassuring smile. "Please, I just want to be there for you during your transformation."

"Okay but the first sign of trouble and Padfoot will get you out of there," he said sternly, pecking her on the cheek.

Hermione smiled, she hoped that Moony would be okay that only Remus was allergic to cats so that she could support him during the full moon.

Xx

The night of the full moon came quickly and with it, a bundle of nerves for Hermione. She had practised transforming into her panther form repeatedly just to make sure she could at the right time. She had gone over the plan with James and Sirius several times, so many times that Sirius got annoyed. But she had to be sure, tonight could not go wrong. If it did… Remus would not get over it.

Remus had been taken down to the Shrieking Shack just after dinner. Then the three of them would sneak out under James' invisibility cloak an hour later.

"Are you ready, Hermione?" James asked, they had entered the tunnel under the Whomping Willow and were now waiting for Remus to transform before they too would change to their Animagus forms and join him.

Hermione shook the nervousness out of her and nodded. "I think so."

"Just bear in mind, it might be tough seeing Remus like this… he will be in pain, and he won't be aware of what he is doing," James said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"We have your back, Kitten." Sirius hugged her.

Hermione gulped and then looked at the two boys who had now transformed into the form of a stag and a dog. "I'll be fine, we can do this," she said. She couldn't tell them that she knew all too well how Remus was as a werewolf. She had not made the decision lightly to join the Marauders in their full moon adventures.

She transformed into her sleek panther form, and the three Animagus entered the Shrieking Shack. Moony was pacing back and forth, growling softly as if he was waiting for them. When he saw Prongs and Padfoot, he bounded over to them jubilantly as he recognised his friends.

Hermione moved forward into the Shack, and Moony moved carefully over to her. He circled around her, sniffing the air. He let out a small whimper and then moved closer to her, smelling the crook of her neck.

Hermione waited, waited for the sneezing. Moony let a wistful howl and then started to hop around her as if he recognised her. He hadn't reacted! Hermione let out a joyous roar and joined him and the Marauders as they bounded around the room. Hermione was cautiously optimistic, Moony didn't seem to be allergic to her panther form, just Remus was.

The night progressed effortlessly, they headed out onto the grounds once they were sure that all the professors had gone to bed. They ran around and kept Moony out of trouble. There had been no sign of an allergy in Moony all night.

"Looks like we had nothing to worry about," Sirius said. James pulled the invisibility cloak around them, once they had escorted Moony back to the Shrieking Shack.

"Yes, it seems like only Remus is allergic to me," Hermione whispered as they started moving towards the castle.

Xx

Hermione slinked into the Hospital Wing. It was still early, and Madam Pomfrey wouldn't want him to have any visitors. However, Hermione had to see him, to tell him what had happened the night before. If he was awake, he was probably worried about her. He was probably worrying himself into a dark, scary place.

She edged closer to his hospital bed, and he was awake, looking up at the ceiling.

"Remus?" she whispered, moving over to him and touching his hand.

He turned to look at her and smiled. "Morning… how did it go last night? Are you alright" His hands and eyes investigated her arms and face, he had to see and feel for himself that she was alright.

Hermione smiled, "It went great, you didn't react to my Panther form at all. So only you are allergic to me, not Moony." She reached over and kissed him. "I'm fine, just get some rest, and we will talk later." She sorted out his blankets and watched as he fell asleep faster than she had expected. 'He must have been exhausted,' she thought. Hermione took one last look at him before she headed off to start her day. It seemed they had nothing to worry about after all.


End file.
